Mower



' (No Model.) I

H. A.. HOWE MOWER.

Patented Apr. 8, 188 1.

NITED STATES ATENT Prion.

HENRY A. HOWE, OF ALBION, NEXV YORK.

MOWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 296,412, dated April 8,1884. Application filed J une 1883. (No model.)

To all whom/it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY Anonrnann HOWE, of Albion, in the county ofOrleans and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Mowers and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in mowers;and the improvement consists of such constructive changes andalterations whereby the mower for which a patent was granted to me March16, 1880, and numbered 225,607, is transformed into a socalled front-cutmower, all as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimproved mower.

Fig. 2 is a plan thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail,

showing the connection of the shoe with the pole by means of a slottedarm or bracket.

, Fig. 4. is a section, showing connection ofcoupling-arm and shoe.

A is the main frame. It is provided with the flanges a and b, to whichthe rear extension, B, of the pole is bolted, the axle-boxes c c, bymeans of which the frame is supported upon the drivewheels 6 O, and thefront extension, d, which forms a shield for the crank-wheel and pitma-nconnection, and also forms a sup port for the inner end of thecoupling-arm W. The gearing is inclosed in an iron case, e, formed by adepression of the main frame itself, is covered by ahinged cover, D, andhas a shipping-lever for throwing in and out of gear.

E is the pipe-box which incloses the crank shaft, and F is thecrank-wheel. All these parts are constructed and arranged the same as inmy aforesaid Letters Patent, except that the whole arrangement is turnedend for end, so as to bring the crank toward the front of the machine. p

G is the drivers seat, secured to the rear end of the frame A, and H isa foot-rest bolted on top of the cover D.

I is a finger-bar of usual construction. It

is secured with its inner end upon the combined drawbar and shoe J, andwith its outer end to the divider K, which is supported by an adjustablewheel, L, and has a track-clearer, M, bolted to its rear end.

The combined draw-bar and shoe J has adjustably secured to its underside a sub-shoe, N, which, in connection with the adj ustability of thewheel L, provides means to adjust the height of out.

The cutting apparatus is of the usual description, and the cutter-bar Oconnects with the pitman P by means of a ball-and-socket joint, Q. Thecombined draw-bar and shoe J is curved up at the rear, and its front endeX- tends forward and is curved upward and in-' ward until it reacheswith its forward end near the line of draft, where it is held adjustablywithin a vertical slot in the bracket R. The bracket It is bolted to thepole S by means of its flange f, and it forms on the side of the pole avertical guide for the forward end of the draw-bar, which is heldtherein in the following manner, as shown in Fig. 3. gis the slot in thebracket It. draw-bar. It is turned round and made of proper size to passfreely through the slot g. Its outer end is threaded and engages with ascrew-nut, i, which is provided with a spherical washer, is.

The device for locking the forward end of the combined shoe and draw-barin position is constructed as follows: A neck, Z, is formed near itsend, and this is provided with an cared collar, m, to which one end ofthe link T is pivoted. The other end connects with the bent lever U,whichis pivoted to the side of the pole.

n is a rod connecting one end of the bent lever U with the hand-lever V,which is pivoted within easy reach of the driver from his seat. Thehand-lever V is provided with the usual devices for looking it in anydesired position. Thus the driver can from his seat, by actuating thelever V, raise or lower at will the forward end of the draw-bar--inother words, tilt the finger-bar of the machinewith; ont stopping hishorses or getting off his seat. Asthe tilting operation has for itscenter of h is the forward end of the I motion the point where the shoeJ touches the combined shoe and draw-bar without binding ed by means ofa spherical joint (shown indetail in Fig. 4) to one side of the uprightX, which is bolted to the top of the shoe.

7 Y is the lifting-lever. It is placed within easy reach of the driverfrom his seat, and is constructed and operated in the same manner as inmy aforesaid Letters Patent, or in any other suitable way.

Z is the lifting-chain. It passes from the tilting lever under thepulley p, then around the pulley r, and over the guide tto the top ofthe upright X, to which its end is connected by a clevis. If theoperator winds up thelifting-chain by actuating the lifting-lever in theproper manner, it will first lift the finger-bar horizontally, and thenfold the same in, a Vertical position at the side of the machine andlock it in position. I

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the shoe anddraw-bar are combined in one piece, making a perfect floating drawbar,which enables the shoe to pass over any obstruction and easily followall inequalities of the ground; and, owing to its rolling connectionwith the slotted bracket and tilting device, it can never bind nor crampat these connections, thus making the operation of the tilting device atall times easy and perfect. None of the draft transmitted to thedraw-bar can affect the tilting device, owing tothe curvature of thebracket R, which is a segment of a circle with its center in the axis ofthe fingerbar.

The coupling-arm is in front of the pitman, and has the same generalinclination. It thus does duty as a guard for the same. Moreover it isalso in line with the finger-bar, thus acting as a perfect brace to thesame, keeping it always in line with the pitman, no matter how thefinger-bar is adjusted. The coupling-arm and the draw-bar are the onlyconnections I have between the finger-bar or shoe N, to the exclusion ofall braces back to the main frame or axle. I thus avoid all tendency tolift the truck. from the ground when cutting in heavy grass, whichtendency reduces or destroys the cutting power of the machine. Thecouplingarm is attached to the upright upon the shoe by means of aspherical joint, which has the advantage of being well protected againstclogging, and also gives the coupling-arm more freedom to adj ust itselfreadily without binding or cramping when the finger-bar is folded up.

The slotted guide-bracket for holding the end of the draw-bar extensionof the shoe is a simple device for transmitting the draft to thefinger-bar, and allows of all the various adjustments thereto. It formsno obstruction. to the horses, as it is bolted close onto the pole anddoes not project above the same, thereby being entirely out of the wayof the doubletree, which latter may be attached by one of the boltswhich secure said bracket to the pole.

The operation of the tilting device requires but little exertion fromthe driver, as there is nothing but the friction to overcome. Itsconnection with the draw-bar extension of the shoe is by means of arolling joint, which prevents any binding. This admits of the use of acom- .paratively small tilting-lever for the driver.

The operation of the lifting-lever is greatly facilitated by theoverhanging chain-guide t, which guides the lifting-chain to a pointnearly above the shoe, thus producing a nearly vertical lift, and toassist the folding of the fingerbarthe upright X is curved, so as toafford leverage for that purpose.

What I claim as my invention, is-- In a mower, the connection betweenthe forward end of the combined draw-bar and shoe with the slottedguide-bracket by a rolling joint, consisting of a rounded neck passingthrough the slot in the guide-bracket, and held therein by a screw-nutwith a spherical washer, substantially in the manner described.

HENRY A. HOWVE.

Witnesses:

' CLARK D. KNArr,

H. S. Gonn.

